NITON JUNCTION, Alta. – For three years Ralph Burns has faithfully recorded the birthdays of each of his 200 calves and spent a frustrating two days entering the birth dates in the Canadian Cattle Identification Association computer system.
But it makes Burns’ blood boil to see the information he gathered tossed into the garbage when he takes the calves to the auction market.
“Nobody cares, nobody wants it,” said Burns, who sold his cattle three weeks ago, only to see the CCIA age verification data thrown out when his cattle were sold.
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“They don’t want it,” a frustrated Burns told an Alberta Beef Producers regional meeting Oct. 23.
If the industry continues to promote age verification as a salvation for Canada’s battered beef industry, there has to be an easier way to collect, record and transfer the data to the new owners, he said.
Entering information from a rural computer with dial-up access to the internet is only for cattle producers who are determined it’s the right thing to do.
Burns suggested instead of the laborious task of computer data entry, the system should use colour-coded CCIA tags. A different coloured tag would represent the year an animal was born. Every animal born across Canada would have the same coloured ear tag. Buyers could see the age of the animal at a glance.
“They have to make it simpler. It’s too complicated,” said Burns, who doesn’t know if he’ll take the time to age verify his cattle when there’s no financial reward for the effort.
Mike Cook, a local ABP delegate and the Beef Information Centre chair, believes producers will eventually be rewarded for the added work of age verification, but it will take time.
“I know there are people out there assembling them,” Cook said.
Corey Sekura of Sekura Auctions in Drayton Valley, Alta., said of the 75,000 head of cattle sold through his auction market last year, only about 500 animals were bought specifically because they were age verified.
“Buyers don’t request it,” he said. “They’re not even asking for it.”
Sekura said age verification is a tough sell for producers who see no obvious benefit. If producers bring in age verification data with their cattle, it’s filed with that week’s sale information, but few buyers request it.
However, he said he believes age verification will benefit the cattle industry in the future.
Sekura doesn’t know if cattle producers, who are only now getting used to using CCIA ear tags for their cattle, would willingly adopt colour-coded tags.
“Every time there’s change, it takes a year to explain it to my clients,” said Sekura. He foresees complaints about unused colour-coded CCIA ear tags carried over to another year.
“You have to be careful introducing a new system.”
